Latest KFF Health News Stories
The troubled Indian Health Services has balked at releasing any records about how the agency had handled accusations against Stanley Patrick Weber, who has been convicted of sexually abusing Native American boys.
Insurers Steering Patients Toward Clinics They’ve Bought In New Threat To Hospitals, Providers
“It’s very worrisome for hospitals,” said Chas Roades, a health care consultant. “Suddenly, the plan you’re relying on for payment is also competing with you at the front end of the delivery system.” In other news, Walmart takes on CVS and Amazon, and patients are left floundering when insurer drops doctors.
Immigration Advocates Braced As ‘Public Charge’ Rule Goes Into Effect
The Trump administration rolled out a rule on Monday that advocates say will have a chilling effect on immigrants seeking needed help through programs like Medicaid and food stamps. “It’s sending a message that says, ‘you’re not welcome,’” said Marty Martinez, Boston’s chief of health and human services.
Monday’s majority opinion noted that since Title X began in 1970, its rules regarding abortion referrals have seesawed back and forth, depending on the political party of the administration in power, and that the Trump administration’s rule is slightly less restrictive than a 1988 version upheld by the Supreme Court. Lower courts have deemed the rule “an arrogant assumption that the government is better suited to direct women’s health care than their providers.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) finally released an outline to fund programs like “Medicare for All,” after months of resistance and questions about how he’ll pay for it. But the math still might not add up. Meanwhile, a look at what it means for the candidates not to release their health records.
Some of the earliest coronavirus infections were found in people exposed to a wildlife market in Hubei’s provincial capital Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold. Since the inception of the outbreak, health experts have been outspoken about how such places are fertile breeding grounds for viruses. Other news from China looks at health care workers’ infections, pregnant women, and evacuations from Wuhan.
Health experts say China’s extreme response may have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, but as cases continue to spike outside of the country, world leaders brace for a widespread outbreak. WHO, however, continues to maintain that it’s too early to call this a pandemic yet. “Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Global stocks plunged on Monday as investors finally began to adopt a more pessimistic view of the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on the world’s economy. For President Donald Trump, who has banked on strong growth to propel him into another four years in office, that could spell trouble ahead.
The emergency spending request also includes accessing $535 million previously earmarked to fight Ebola and money from allocated to other federal agencies, for a package totaling $2.5 billion. “To this point, no agency has been inhibited in response efforts due to resources or authorities. However, much is still unknown about this virus and the disease it causes,” acting White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote to congressional leaders. Democrat were quick to slam the funding request as too small for the scope of the outbreak. Meanwhile, Republicans were worried about potential drug shortages as fallout from the virus continues.
First Edition: February 25, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Needy Patients ‘Caught In The Middle’ As Insurance Titan Drops Doctors
UnitedHealthcare is dropping hundreds of physicians from its New Jersey Medicaid network, separating patients from longtime doctors. Physicians charge the insurer is using its market power to shift business to practices it controls.
The Golden State’s Mixed Record On Lung Cancer
California has one of the lowest rates of new lung cancer cases in the country, attributed largely to its aggressive anti-tobacco policies. But gaps in the state’s health care system mean that people who are diagnosed with the disease, or at a high risk of getting it, often fall through the cracks.
Llegando al corazón del estado físico presidencial, ¿cuánto necesitamos saber?
Con la camada de pre candidatos demócratas a la presidencia más mayor en la historia, el tema de la salud personal forma parte del debate.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, California, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Editorial writers offer views on the dangers coronavirus poses in the U.S.
Location technology is “kind of a coin toss.” The FCC has given carriers until 2021 to make sure transmission locations are within 50 yards 80% of the time. Public health news is on USPS work-related injuries, a biomedical research contest, suicide-crisis centers, prostate cancer, a lucky fall, perinatal stroke, birthing plans, disparity in birth outcomes, medical clowns, chocolate’s appeal, friendship and health, childhood prosthetics, and healthy beverages, as well.
The industry is shifting away from macho man marketing and into a softer image in an attempt to bolster flagging sales as politics around gun violence become more complex. Meanwhile, lawmakers have introduced legislation that would stop the FBI from purging incomplete background checks from their lists.
Some experts say the groundwork is now, finally, being laid for future therapies. New approaches are being explored, and awareness of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia has reached critical mass. “We now have momentum unlike we’ve ever had in this field before,” said Harry Johns, the CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.
California Defends Authority To Require Insurers To Cover Abortion As Protecting Women’s Rights
HHS said last month that the state’s abortion coverage requirement violated federal law that banned government entities that receive HHS funding from discriminating against health-care organizations because they don’t provide abortion or abortion coverage. “The Trump Administration’s threats not only put women’s health on the line, but illegally threaten crucial public health funding that Californians rely on,” said California Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a letter to HHS.